Bøker av Celia Lake

Enjoy this kind and gentle 1920s historical fantasy romance series set in the magical community of Great Britain.Kate yearns to prove her competence.During the Great War, Kate was able to take on new and interesting challenges as a member of Albion's Guard. Now the men have returned, she has been reassigned to routine duties. They are important, necessary - and boring.When a mysterious manor reappears in England after centuries, someone must figure out how to get through the roses, wards, and magic that protect it. That someone might just be Kate.Giles refuses to let his blindness change his life.Blinded by gas in the Great War, Giles knows he is still a competent and creative cryptographer, mathematician, and magician. The rest of the world doesn't always agree.Kate at least seems willing to listen to what he needs. She learns quickly, too. That's more than Giles can say for his secretary and distant cousin, who is becoming more difficult to live with by the day.When Giles and Kate make a breakthrough in their investigation, it sends them tumbling into the lost manor and a tangle of fae enchantment. Only his skills and Kate's persistence can get them out of the sprawling country house.Wards of the Roses is the fourth novel in the Mysterious Charm series. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. It is full of curiosity, using all the tools at your disposal, living with a life-changing disability, and a great deal of ancient magic. Enjoy this gentle romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1920 with a happily ever after ending!

New magic brings new challenges. Charged with creating a magical journal that would allow rapid communication during the Great War, Lynet has worked with a papermaker to overcome the technical challenges. But brilliant magical innovation isn't enough. When she returns from a leave after the death of her father, Lynet is told they have to make more journals, cheaper and faster. The last thing she needs is a set of unskilled hands assigned to help her at this impossible task, and she's dubious that a man will be more of a help than a hinderance given her ongoing problems with most of the men of the research department. Reggie is recently invalided out of the Army but has no relevant skills other than being a magically trained Schola man. When he's assigned to help Lynet, he's not sure how much use he'll be. He's soon swept up in Lynet's ambitious project and fascinated by her skills and knowledge. Together, Reggie and Lynet must figure out how to get the magical materials they need for the project and move forward despite unexpected obstacles. Their mission is quickly complicated by odd goings on with other research in the department, something that might change the War itself! Bound For Perdition is the first book in the Mysterious Arts series. A cosy historical fantasy romance set in 1917 in the magical city of Albion, Britain's magical community, it is a great entry to Celia Lake's Albion books. Bound for Perdition is full of bookbinding, coming to grips with injury, navigating class differences, and making a new future in a rapidly changing world.

Enjoy this kind and gentle 1920s historical fantasy romance series set in the magical community of Great Britain.Vivian has high standards.When she is asked to investigate a series of eerie events at a country home turned boarding house outside of Oxford, Vivian agrees to take it on. There are so many possible causes; an old house, spiritualist seances, a dozen magical folk living close together.Cadmus loves his family home and his nephew.Retired from the Colonial Service after a terrifying incident, Cadmus is happy as a classicist and translator. Running the family estate near Oxford as a boarding house allows him to keep the place running until his nephew can inherit.Cadmus isn't sure what to make of their latest resident. Worse, after she arrives, there are even more odd and startling events. Shapes appear, paintings change on the walls, and the roses attack him. When he discovers a mysterious dancing figure, he is certain that all his fears about fae and inhuman magic have come home to roost.Cadmus can't trust anything Vivian says, but she may be his only hope to stop the dangerous and terrifying magical events that are driving people away from the house.Seven Sisters is the seventh novel in the Mysterious Charm series. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. It is full of fae magic, ancient roots, family, and terrifying grandmothers. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with no sex scenes set in 1925 with a happily ever after ending!

Enjoy this kind and gentle 1920s historical fantasy romance series set in the magical community of Great Britain.Laura wants to live her life.Laura hasn't had an easy time since she was fifteen. Illness, recovery, and then a rough few years after her father's presumed death have left her reeling. Now in her mid-twenties, Laura can finally have the life she always dreamed off, full of parties and perhaps even romance and love.Her first attempt ended badly - disastrously, actually. But now Laura's determined to put that all behind her. When she's invited to a house party on a remote island off the coast of Cornwall, she's glad to accept. If nothing else, the scenery will be stunning.Friendship is everything.Martin and Galen have been best friends since their first year in school. Martin is building a career as a journalist, but Galen hasn't had the same chance. His parents have kept him close since Galen's brother returned from the Great War with a devastating facial injury.Recently, Galen's mother has become determined to get him married. She's planned an intimate house party and an evening ball. After his father unexpectedly invites a brash American brother and sister, the gathering takes an odd turn.When the American woman turns up dead in the solarium and the entire island is cut off by storm and magical interference, Galen, Martin, and Laura must work together to find out who killed her and why. The investigation uncovers secret after secret, and Galen and Martin's membership in a radically progressive group puts them both at risk.In The Cards is the fifth novel in the Mysterious Charm series. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. It is a locked room murder mystery full of Tarot cards, friendship, family secrets, living with chronic illness, and a bit of espionage. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1925 with a happily ever after ending!

The enemy of my enemy is not my friend. Lord Geoffrey Carillon wants to do the impossible. He needs to get an imprisoned alchemist doing key research out of Germany before the world gets even worse. Carillon's cover as a slightly daffy aristocrat will get him where he needs to be, but he can't do this mission alone. He has many magical skills, but not the ones he needs to free his friend. Alexander is a stranger in his own land. A skilled and powerful member of the Council, Alexander is responsible for tending the land magic of Albion. However, the Council uses him as their enforcer, adeptly doing terrible and necessary work from the shadows. When Carillon proposes the expedition into Austria and Germany, can Alexander carry off the subterfuge and still keep his hands clean and his inner self barricaded in enemy territory? Any two professionals can tolerate each other in service of a goal. That's true even if Carillon has excellent reason to distrust the Council, and Alexander has just as much reason to keep everyone at arm's length. When matters move from possible blackmail into a sought after invitation to a remote schloss, Carillon and Alexander find their lives entangled in ways neither of them had ever dreamed of. Best Foot Forward takes place in 1935 in the magical communities of Great Britain, Vienna, and Berlin. It is an enemies to "it's complicated" M/M romance full of espionage, magic, extreme competence under pressure, music, and healing from the traumas of the Great War. It also contains an epilogue novella, Intimacies of the Seasons, following Alexander and Carillon through the next year of their lives.

On the Summer Solstice of 1940, Gabe made a solemn oath. Two parts of it were easy enough, he was already doing them. The third part has haunted his every choice since. When he is asked a question that August, Gabe knows he must answer yes. His answer will change him, his family, and everything around him. There is no other way through but keeping his word and dealing with the consequences. No one said he had to do it the way anyone else expects. Upon A Summer's Day is a short novel that takes place in the autumn and winter of 1940 as World War II moves into a second year with the start of the Blitz Join Gabe, his wife, his family, and their allies in unweaving a tangle of ancient magics, turning assumptions on their heads, and refusing to follow destructive traditions. The fourth book in the Land Mysteries series, Upon A Summer's Day directly follows the events of Old As The Hills, and is best read in sequence.

What would you risk so others could live? It is the early months of WWII and Rathna already has an idea of how bad it might get. If she can make the final connections she needs to create a new portal in a matter of weeks rather than years, she might just be able to get a few more people out of Germany's ever expanding grasp. But she's also been asked to take on a new apprentice. Rathna has no idea whether he'll be willing to help, if she can trust him, or if he can trust her enough to do what needs to be done. Her husband Gabe has a challenge that will use every single one of his skills and then some. He's been charged by the Council to coordinate magical responses to the war, not only in Albion itself, but among the many esoteric and occult groups of Great Britain. His own apprentice is brilliant, in a different way than Gabe, but this project will ask everything of them both. Together, Gabe and Rathna have built their lives to bend their passions, talents, and magics to making things better for the world around them, including their three growing children. Now their war work is going to separate them, certainly for months, possibly for much longer. As they tangle with ancient magics, seeking new ways forward, there are more unanswerable questions, tremendous risks, and a few glimmers of hope. Old As The Hills follows Gabe and Rathna's adventures from the autumn of 1939 through the summer of 1940, a time of desperate plans to save lives and hold back invasion. It is full of ancient fae magic, the power of place, urgent witchcraft rituals, and unexpected encounters. The Land Mysteries series explores the Second World War in the magical community of Albion.

Enjoy this kind and gentle 1920s historical fantasy romance series set in the magical community of Great Britain.Pross has a simple research question.A widow raising her daughter on her own, Pross has begun taking on research projects as well as running the village bookstore. When she visits the Research Society in London for a consulation, it is nothing like she remembers. Books and materials are hidden away, and nearly everyone is dismissive.Ibis is as prickly as a hedgehogToo British for Egypt and far too Egyptian for England, Ibis has found a place for himself since the Great War translating and examining materials from excavations in Egypt. The work is wonderful and he's able to be close to his youngest sister, but the other scholars ignore or insult him.When Pross asks for his help investigating tales of an ancient Roman hoard, Ibis is intrigued. It turns out they aren't the only ones interested. Ibis and Pross must use all their wits and every one of their skills - even the one Ibis is terrified to reveal - to protect themselves and the hidden hoard.Magician's Hoard is the third novel in the Mysterious Charm series. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. It is full of archaeology, magical artefacts, research, motherhood, an urgent trip to Paris, and the dangers of empire. Enjoy this gentle romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1926 with a happily ever after ending!

Enjoy this gentle and kind historical fantasy romance set in the magical community of Great Britain after the Great War. Thalia wants to make an impact. Thalia's life is full of artists, authors, and other creative minds, but she's barely keeping herself together. After yet another rejection of her writing, she's willing to keep an eye out on a remote home on the edge of Dartmoor while her reclusive great-aunt takes a rest cure. Adam hasn't been the same since the Great War. Adam's family have long since run out of tolerance for his continuing shell shock. His uncle's broken leg is the perfect excuse to get Adam out of the house - at least he can make himself useful fetching and carrying. Adam's not at all sure he can be any sort of help to anyone. When he visits his uncle's apple orchard, he's even more confused by what he finds - and no one else seems to find the late-ripening apples at all unusual. The house has its own secrets. At first, the house seems a pleasant enough retreat for Thalia. The housekeeper and maid are competent, if distant. The food is wonderful, and she didn't have to buy or cook it herself. But there's the odd noise from the attic, the locked rooms, the ageless photographs. When she meets Adam, they at least agree that something is odd. Can they discover the secret and change their futures? Mistress of Birds is the seventh book of the Mysterious Powers series, exploring the institutions of Albion during and after the Great War. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. It is full of gothic mystery, feeling out of place, apples, birds, and how to move forward into a new stage of life. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy set in 1927 with a happily ever after ending!

Enjoy this kind and gentle 1920s historical fantasy romance series set in the magical community of Great Britain.Lizzie loves her sister.After their father and uncle were lost in a diastrous expedition, Lizzie has done her best to keep everything together. Her younger sister Laura survived tubeculosis, but a decade in and out of treatment has left her stubbornly insistent on doing for herself.When Lizzie gets hired by a private agency, she thinks she can finally relax. Steady work will help them both keep the family home and rebuild their lives after their many losses.He is made of curiosity.Carillon fled his memories of the Great War, preferring adventures and natural history expeditions in Africa and Asia. That was before he unexpectedly inherited his family's title and had to return to England.Now he's been back for two years, finding his place as a lord of the land. When he stumbles across an addictive magical drink that brings visions of distant places, he simply must investigate.After Carillon collides with Lizzie outside a masked ball, they quickly realise they can learn far more if they work together. The only question is whether they can save Laura and stop other people being hurt or even killed.Goblin Fruit is the second novel in the Mysterious Charm series. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. Goblin Fruit is full of magical potions, an aristocratic investigator, fae beings, a fake relationship, and several house parties. Enjoy this gentle romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1924 with a happily ever after ending!

Enjoy this kind and gentle 1920s historical fantasy romance series set in the magical community of Great Britain.Cassie makes dresses that flatter and charmCassie has worked hard for years to become one of Albion's respected dressmakers. She thrives on figuring out how to clothe her clients superbly whatever the current fashion, and ignores all the gossip.Almost all of it.Benton was born to be of service.After the Great War, he found a place for life as Lord Carillon's valet. Now his lordship is marrying, and Benton is determined everything will go smoothly.When the dressmaker making the trousseau for his lordship's bride-to-be mentions some unpleasant gossip, Benton knows he needs to investigate before bringing it to Lord Carillon. His lordship is terribly busy right now, after all.The only question is whether he and Cassie can set aside their mutual distrust and work together to face the challenges of a dangerous cockfight and the more subtle risks of a country house party and masked ball.On The Bias is the sixth novel in the Mysterious Charm series. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. On The Bias is full of 1920s fashion, three dangerous birds, secrets, loyalty, and criminal plots, with an autistic hero. Enjoy this charming romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1925 with a happily ever after ending!

Enjoy this kind and gentle 1920s historical fantasy romance series set in the magical community of Great Britain.She found freedom as a governess.Born and raised to be an obedient daughter of the upper class, Ferry refused to marry the awful man her parents chose for her. Instead, she took a position as a governess in a country house deep in the New Forest.Now spring has come to England, she can finally spend time in the nearest village and explore the magical, mysterious, and possibly dangerous forest around her chosen home.He has great power and no future.The Great War changed everything for the worse. Rufus came home terrified of being buried alive and without the magical training he desperately needed. Now he's lost all of his family and any hope of building a better life.Rufus is down to his last few coins when he saves one of Ferry's charges from a cranky New Forest pony. She's grateful, but she's also kind, the first kindness he's known in weeks.When a local smuggler offers him a lifechanging amount of money to do just one job, he knows there must be a catch. But it's the only way to have a future, never mind one with Ferry. She comes from a different world, and Rufus has the sense to know it.When the smuggler's demands, interference from the newly returned local lord, and the remaining scars from World War I all tangle together, Rufus and Ferry find themselves in grave danger.Outcrossing is the first novel in the Mysterious Charm series. All of Celia Lake's Albion books exploring the magical community of the British Isles can be read in any order. Full of magical creatures, New Forest ponies, village life, and first love, Outcrossing is a gentle romantic fantasy with a swirl of sex set in 1922 with a happily ever after ending. Enjoy!

Celebrate the winter with three novellas about love, family, and what it means to be home after the Great War.Casting Nasturtiums brings a family together.Seth has no idea what's happened to Golshan since that awful day in the trenches in 1918. Now he's demobbed, Seth can track down Golshan, love Dilly (his wife), and get back to his woodwork. Of course, it's never that simple. Seth has to fight a bureaucracy, Golshan needs to reclaim his life, and all three of them need to figure out how their lives work now. (Polyamorous MMF romance set in 1919.)Country Manners finds Kate and Giles happy in the life they are building together.When the winter holidays require a visit to his family estate, Giles and Kate make the best of it. Fortunately, they stumble into a mystery along the way, inspiring Kate to take a new approach in dealing with his family's disapproval of just about everything. (This tale takes place in December 1921, between their engagement and wedding.)Thesan, Isembard, Ibis, and Pross find themselves Chasing Legends during the winter holidays at Schola.It's long past time to revive some of Schola's older traditions. As a few staff and guests settle down for a feast, a resounding knock on the door brings a knight out of ancient tales and a challenge that will need every one of their combined skills. (December 1926, on the anniversary of Thesan and Isembard's wedding.)All three novellas in this collection can be enjoyed on their own without reading other books of Albion. However, they do contain some spoilers for the events of those books. Kate and Giles meet and fall in love in Wards of the Roses. Thesan and Ismebard's romance can be found in Eclipse, and Pross and Ibis's can be found in Magician's Hoard.Come enjoy all the delights of winter with Winter's Charms! Get your copy now for enchanting holiday reading full of kindness, magic, and love.